Ex-tour guide charged with faking his firm's accounts

The former China tour guide accused of manipulating a wealthy 87-year-old widow into giving him control of her assets was yesterday charged with faking his firm's accounts.

Yang Yin, 40, will be kept in remand for five days to assist the police, and to ensure that he does not flee the country.

He faces 11 charges of falsifying receipts worth $28,000 in total - purportedly paid to Young Music and Dance Studio, of which he was a director. These were mainly for music services, such as piano tuition.

But it is alleged that these payments were never made, raising the possibility that he was running a sham company.

It was through this firm that Yang obtained an Employment Pass in 2009, which let him stay here with Singaporean widow Chung Khin Chun in her $30 million bungalow in Gerald Crescent. Two years later, he became a permanent resident.

Yang, who was brought to court in handcuffs, wore a brown T-shirt with the words "Survivor Singapore" printed on it. The charges were read out to him in Mandarin by an interpreter.

If convicted, he faces 10 years in jail, a fine, or both.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ang Feng Qian said more than 300 receipts from his firm have yet to be accounted for. She said Yang, whose passport was impounded, was a flight risk since, among other reasons, he has no family here.

He is also being separately probed by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Manpower Ministry. An ICA spokesman told The Straits Times: "Any permanent resident convicted of an offence will have his or her PR status reviewed."

The saga gained widespread attention in September when Madam Chung's niece Hedy Mok evicted Yang's wife and two children from the bungalow. Yang was overseas at the time.

It was then revealed that he met Madam Chung when he worked as her personal tour guide for a 2008 trip to Beijing.

In 2012, Madam Chung, who was diagnosed with dementia this year, made Yang responsible for her affairs and assets, believed to be worth $40 million, under the Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) scheme.

After Madam Mok, a 60-year-old tour agency owner, found out about the LPA early this year, she took her aunt out of the bungalow and began legal proceedings to revoke Yang's guardianship and to sue him for allegedly breaching his duties.

In September, Madam Chung also applied to cancel the LPA. In two weeks' time, a court is scheduled to hear whether she has the mental capacity to do this.

Yang was arrested on Sept 17 for suspected criminal breach of trust - the same day the Office of the Public Guardian, which runs the LPA scheme, made a police report alleging that he may have abused his position as Madam Chung's guardian.

kcarolyn@sph.com.sg

tohyc@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Nov 01, 2014. Get a copy of The Straits Times or go to straitstimes.com for more stories.